


Bottled up

by whumpsie_daisy



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Caretaking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Oblivious Zelda, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sign Language, could be pre-relationship, febuwhump day 2, ”I can’t take this any more!”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:14:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29163225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whumpsie_daisy/pseuds/whumpsie_daisy
Summary: “I can’t take this anymore!”The glass bottle shattered as it hit the wall beside Link’s head. He flinched, almost imperceptibly, but it was there. Zelda felt a flicker of satisfaction at that, but it was smothered by the anger still roiling inside her.When Zelda’s temper gets out of control, she lashes out and ends up hurting the one meant to protect her. But could this be the moment they finally begin to understand one another?
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 69
Collections: febuwhump 2021





	Bottled up

**Author's Note:**

> It’s day 2 y’all! Does anyone read these... because I don’t. Anyway, please enjoy this angsty tidbit and know that I had to physically stop myself from turning this into a multi-chapter fic about Zelda learning sign language and Link learning to open up.
> 
> If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, so let me know. I might get round to it eventually.

“I can’t take this anymore!” 

The glass bottle shattered as it hit the wall beside Link’s head. He flinched, almost imperceptibly, but it was there. Zelda felt a flicker of satisfaction at that, but it was smothered by the anger still roiling inside her. 

“You just stand there, like some ridiculous statue. You never say anything! I hate it. I don’t need a babysitter and I definitely don’t need you.” As she spoke, she stalked across the room until she was practically nose to nose with her silent intruder. She jabbed a finger against his chest, shoving him backwards. 

He rocked backwards, his foot crunching on the broken glass. Still he stayed silent, but there was a strange look in his eyes that Zelda couldn’t name. She had no idea what was going on in his mind. She never did. She was about to say something else when something caught her eye. As Link stared at her, mute as ever, a thin trickle of blood ran down his neck. 

Zelda flinched back like she’d been burned. “You’re bleeding!” she gasped. The realisation that it was her doing drenched her with horror. It doused her anger in a cold, discomforting shame. 

For his part, Link carefully reached up and touched the little stream of blood, following it back to its source and managing to smear it along the side of his neck. He winced as his finger brushed the back of his ear, a small flicker of pain that was gone in an instant. 

He eyed Zelda for a moment, as if figuring something out in his mind, before glancing towards the door. He couldn’t be thinking of leaving now - the cut needed to be cleaned and covered and - 

Upon realising that Link probably wanted to get as far away from her as possible, Zelda stumbled back. “I- I’m sorry,” she mumbled, staring down at her hands as she wrung them together. “I didn’t mean to - I was angry, I shouldn’t have lashed out.”

A hand, free of blood, reached out and tapped the top of hers. Her eyes shot up to meet his, they were so open, so earnest. He inhaled sharply, just as Zelda blurted out, “It needs cleaning. Please let me help, I have a medicine kit somewhere around here.” She spun on her heel and flustered about the room, searching drawers and cabinets for the little box. Her eyes prickled and blurred with tears, but she blinked them away. What right did she have to cry now, when she was the cause of this mess? 

Finally she found the box tucked away at the back of a drawer. She held it up with a smile. “Here it is, now sit down over there and let me clean it up.” She gestured to her bed, close to the window where the midday sun streamed in. 

Link was still standing against the far wall, glass shards littering the floor around him and a look of mild panic in his eyes. He shook his head and took a step towards the door. 

“I’m really sorry, Link,” Zelda said again. “Please allow me to make it up to you.” 

At that, Link’s shoulders seemed to deflate slightly and his eyes fluttered closed beneath his blond bangs. It could have been a trick of the breeze, but Zelda thought she heard him whisper something too soft to hear as his hand twitched. He didn’t look at her as he walked, almost mechanically, over to her bed and sat down. His back was ramrod straight and she could see his jaw twitching where he grit his teeth. 

Right, he probably wanted to get this over with. Zelda wet her lips and shuffled closer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She peered at the cut carefully, checking for any slivers of glass that might be embedded in there. Picking up the cloth and the bottle of spirits, she frowned slightly. “This might hurt a little.”

At this proximity, she could see for definite the moment his lips moved and he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “I’ve definitely had worse.” 

Her hands stilled. “Was that a joke?” she asked incredulously. A flush bloomed up Link’s neck, painting his face a shade of red. He ducked his head and an embarrassed grin spread across his face as he shrugged. 

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t know you had it in you, that's all,” she assured him as she returned to her task. He stiffened up again beneath her touch, but that didn’t surprise her. It hadn’t slipped her notice that he didn’t particularly like being touched by others. With this in mind she tried to be as quick as possible, cleaning up the blood along his neck and swabbing at the still bleeding cut behind his ear. Once she was sure it was clean, she pressed a piece of gauze against the wound, ready this time for the accompanying wince. “I’m sorry,” she said again. 

Link’s hands twitched in a series of movements as he spoke, his voice barely more than a whisper. “I’m sorry too.” He turned slightly so he could look at her. “I’m not good at… at this,” he said, gesturing between them. “I don’t know how to say the things I think.”

Zelda found herself mesmerised by his hands, the shapes and movements they made. A sudden memory of Link and Mipha talking together filled her mind. She recalled the same phenomenon then too, their hands shifting like the current of a river as they spoke in hushed voices across the courtyard. Slowly, Zelda recognised it for what it was. 

She shook her head and gave him a small smile. “I don’t think I do either, most of the time.” She looked down at his hands, pointedly, “But we can always learn, I suppose.”


End file.
